by jphilo | May 8, 2013 | Recipes
Yup, my hunt continues for a really good, non-dairy egg bake–or strata as it’s know in more refined circles. Today’s recipe, a variation the savory vegetable strata featured here in January, is the best one yet.
This time I used Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream in place of the cheese. It’s made with tofu, but unlike most soy-based cheese shreds, it doesn’t taste like soy. It tastes like sour cream and adds a rich, dairy-like creaminess to the dish. The man of steel, who has patiently taste tasted my egg bake attempts, agrees. Even before he thought to sprinkle Parmesan cheese on his portion, he called it the best yet and gave it an unqualified Hiram Seal of Approval. Okay, enough gushing. On to the recipe…
The Best Non-Dairy Egg Bake Ever
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 pound Italian sausage
3 tablespoons fresh chives cut into small pieces (optional)
cooking spray
5 large slices of whole grain or whole wheat bread, cubed
10 large eggs
2 cups almond or rice milk (or a combination of the two)
1 8 ounce carton Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream
10 ounces chopped broccoli, steamed until tender but still firm, or 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
If using fresh broccoli, steam it and set aside to cool. Brown the sausage in a skillet. Drain off fat.
Coat a 9 X 13** baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange bread cubes in the bottom. Arrange sausage on top of bread.
In a large bowl beat the eggs, milk substitute, and sour cream substitute until well-mixed. Add the vegetables and stir. Pour mixture evenly over the bread, so liquid soaks into bread uniformly.
Preheat oven to 350°. Uncover and bake until top forms a light brown crust, 60–70 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 12
by jphilo | May 1, 2013 | Recipes
Now that spring’s finally arrived, I’ve been busy saying hello to green grass, new leaves on trees, and the rhubarb patch. All that socializing didn’t leave much time for cooking, so there’s no recipe this week.
Instead, enjoy this photo of something that looks good enough to eat: the magnolia blossom that waved to us this morning from outside our bedroom window.
I wondered if the flowers could be sugared, like violets, violas, and pansies. But an article about edible flowers says magnolia blossoms are best best pickled. Here’s an easy recipe from the UK for pickled magnolia blossoms, in case you have more time for cooking this week than I do.
If you don’t have time for cooking…or aren’t a fan of pickled flowers, enjoy the photo and enjoy spring. Life doesn’t get much prettier than this.
by jphilo | Apr 24, 2013 | Recipes
Okay, I admit to being skeptical about how today’s recipe would taste when I first read its title. But when the article accompanying the recipe in USA Weekend Magazine said the recipe was for kids, I decided to put my big girl panties on and give it a try.
This dish is the brain child of Melissa Lanz, creator of TheFresh20.com, a meal-planning service that creates shopping lists comprised of 20 unprocessed ingredients. Amazingly, I had every one of the ingredients on hand and was able to make it exactly as written.
And you know what? It was really, really good–fresh and flavorful, with just enough heat from the jalapeno pepper to make the dish memorable. Here’s the recipe.
Orange Jalapeno Shrimp with Broccoli and Brown Rice
1 pound raw deveined shrimp, tails on (The man of steel likes tails off, so I removed them)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Juice of 3 navel oranges (3/4 cup juice)
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil (or another light vegetable oil like canola)
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 navel orange, peeled and sectioned
2 cups cooked brown rice
Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Over high heat, boil the orange juice, honey and soy sauce in a small saucepan. Boil until it’s reduced by half, about 8 minutes. Set aside.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Add the pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute, Toss in the shrimp and cook until it starts to turn opaque (not totally pink) and toss the shrimp with tongs to cook them evenly. Add the orange juice reduction and cook for 3–4 minutes. Lift shrimp out of the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the liquid in the pan, and put shrimp on a plate.
Add the broccoli florets and orange sections to the pan and cook for about 4 minutes, until broccoli is just tender. (Be sure to not cook too long or the orange sections will fall apart. Don’t ask how I know this.) Add the shrimp back into pan. Stir to combine. Serve hot over brown rice.
by jphilo | Apr 17, 2013 | Recipes
The calendar says mid-April, which means grilling season to me, but the weather outdoors says otherwise. Nothing can be done about the unusually cold temperatures this spring, so I’m trying to grin and bear it with a new soup recipe. Turns out, that was a good move because the recipe turned out to be a winner, winning the coveted Hiram seal of approval.
The recipe was featured by author Deborah Vogts at her website, Country At Heart Recipes. My consumption of Italian food, which I love, has been sorely curtailed by this dairy allergy thing. But the Parmesan cheese is added to this soup after it’s ladled into bowls. So it works for both the man of steel, who things Parmesan cheese should be added to everything he eats, and for me, too.
Minestrone Soup
1 pound ground sausage
1 cup onion, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
14 oz. diced tomatoes
14 oz. Italian style stewed tomatoes, crushed
15 oz red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup elbow macaroni
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Brown sausage in large dutch oven. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender. Add mixed vegetables, tomatoes, beans, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add macaroni and cook for another 10-12 minutes until pasta is tender. Ladle into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese. Serves 6-8.
by jphilo | Apr 10, 2013 | Recipes
We were out of town for a long weekend, during which other people did all the cooking. So I didn’t have a chance to try a new recipe. But, thanks to thoughtful hosts and lovely weather, we enjoyed the first grilled meal of the season, and oh, it was good!
Today, the weather turned cold and rainy again. But more sunny days are on the way. In anticipation of grilled meals to come, here are three fave meat marinades previously featured on Down the Gravel Road:
- Honey Mustard Marinade: This post includes Honey Mustard Marinade within the recipe for Honey Mustard Stir Fry. So dig your way down to the marinade part of the post and use it to prepare pork or some other meat for the grill. Or make the stir fry once garden season begins. It’s good both ways.
- Teriyaki Sauce: This recipe is good with chicken, beef, and shrimp. It’s especially good for marinading meat to go on kabobs with fresh veggies and pineapple. However, the photo shows the sauce used in a stir fry, so just imagine that hodgepodge of veggies on skewers instead.
- Savory Marinade: This is our all time favorite grilling marinade. It works well with any kind of meat–chops, roasts, burgers, and kabobs. It does not, however, taste nearly as good in a stir fry. Go figure! The picture below shows beef cut thin, soaked in marinade for an hour or two, grilled briefly and served over plain rice. It doesn’t sound like much, but boy is it good.
Do you have a favorite marinade for food on the grill? Leave a comment about it or even the recipe if you don’t mind divulging your cook’s secrets. Happy grilling to you!
Photo Credit: www.freedigitalphotos.net
by jphilo | Apr 3, 2013 | Recipes
This week’s recipe comes from my daughter-in-law who is a wonderful, inventive, cook who uses fresh, healthy, and nutritious ingredients in everything she makes. She was putting this dish together one morning a few months back as we were saying our good-byes, and it smelled heavenly. On another visit, I copied the recipe from one of her (and my son’s) favorite cook books, Italian Country Cooking by Loukie Werle.
Last weekend, the time came to concoct a dairy-free version of the original recipe. It was delicious! Below is the result of the weekend’s experiment. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Dairy-Free Penne with Meatballs in the Oven
1 pound short dried pasta, such as penne or casareccia
16 ounces of Tofuttie’s Better than Ricotta Cheese
grated paremesan on table for those who want to sprinkle it on top
Sauce:
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 pound pancetta or bacon, coarsely chopped
2–14 oz. cans Italian tomatoes, chopped with juice
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Meatballs:
1 thick slice Italian-type bread, crusts removed
1/3 cup almond, rice, or soy milk
1 pound minced veal (Can also use ground beef)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Make the meatballs first: soak the bread in the milk until the almond milk has been absorbed. Squeeze the bread dry, crumble into a bowl, together with the veal, garlic, egg, and parsley. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Roll into small balls with wet hands. Heat a frying pan over high heat, add oil and when hot, add the balls and brown them on all sides, turning them over carefully so they brown evenly. Set aside.
Combine the oil, garlic, and pancetta/bacon in a frying pan and cook over moderately low heat until the fat runs, about 5 minutes. Drain the fat. Add tomatoes and parsley, bring to a boil, then simmer over moderate heat until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.
Cook the penne in plenty of boiling salted water until nearly al dente. Drain, reserving a small measuring cup of the cooking water. Combine the pasta in a large bowl with the tomato sauce, the meatballs and ricotta. Add enough of the cooking liquid to keep moist.
Transfer to a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot.
